DJ Equipment - middle age/starting out

[Stud_100]

Apologies for what may have been asked numerous times before, but any help would be much appreciated. I owned Numark decks 20+ years ago but never really took it seriously. I'm now 40 and like the idea of mixing at home. Not looking at parties, producing, or anything serious, just a hobby at home. The desire has come from seeing DJs such as Chris Luno and Marsh, so not scratching or anything heavy or crazy - just some trance/chilled house type music. I've seen the Pioneer DDJ-200 and don't want to spend a fortune if I turn out to be rubbish and don't keep it going. Would these be good? And do many of you do what I've described, as in just mix at home and enjoy the tracks whilst also "trying" to DJ at home when you get a spare hour or two?

Thanks. Sorry for the old man/mid life crisis type post.

[Dix]

No need to apologize, I was 43 when I started my mobile DJ business in 2002 & ran for 17 years, until 2019 and retired. If you enjoy it, go with it.
I started in live radio in 1982 for 5 years. Moved to the clubs in 1987 until 1993. Nine years later got back in as a mobile jock.

Personally, I never mixed or scratched etc, I would blend my sets, playing the entire song then blend one into the other just like radio. But I played some current Hip Hop along with Country, classic rock, rock & roll oldies etc.

Go with the flow. There's plenty of music genres & styles for everyone's taste. Do what you enjoy & find a market for it if you choose to work in a public setting. If not, play at home & nobody needs to care but you.

Good luck & welcome to the forums.

[scoob101]

I came from exactly the same starting point 3 years ago, and my first decks were the ddj 200.

I wouldn't recommend them as they don't have an onboard sound card. The DDj 400 would be a much better bet. You can pick up a used one for about 170gbp in the UK and just resell it if you don't get on with it.

If budget isn't a big concern then the ddj flx 4 is the updated version of the 400 with a couple more bells and whistles on it, but essentially the same set of decks.

And yes, I also mix at home for fun and make a few mixtapes for the car and sometimes like minded friends.

[Stud_100]

Thanks for the two replies - much appreciated. I did actually look at the DDJ-400 and like the look of them, so that info is very helpful, thanks. Good to know I'm not starting too late - I can say I started at 15 and just had a 25 year break!

[Stud_100]

One more thing to ask. I don’t intend to DJ for a living or at parties, and not scratching or creating music, but more just to mix tracks having seen the likes of Chris Luno do it sat on their bed or out in the garden! Would decks be a bit pointless if this is all someone wants to do? I like the idea of creating a mix, such as an hour long set, but more for myself than for sharing as such.

[KLH]

Would decks be a bit pointless if this is all someone wants to do?

Not pointless at all. Mix with what you can. If you're performing for yourself - typically in a bedroom - most would call you a Bedroom DJ. It's what most DJs start out as and most become. And there's nothing wrong with that.

[2vintage4u]

Welcome.. Question from a noob as well, but do you own any vinyl and a analog system?? You mentioned you played around years ago and I was wondering if you got rid of your gear and now want to switch to

everything digital.. I've been looking at digital controllers and finding because of the chip shortage still going on, it's either a real beginner set up for around $300 to the more expensive stand alone ones.. There seems to be
not much to buy in the middle and you can find USED stuff but there is the software issues that for someone getting started, become another challenge..

But good luck in your choices and hope you find what works for you..

[DJMcD]

Hey everyone, would love to hear the general feedback on moving from bedroom DJ to club DJ in your 40's?

I was bedroom DJ then bar/club DJ in the early 00's when it was acceptabe to play hard house and techno in a bar at 7pm on a Saturday lol.

I sold my 1200's, I'm yet to sell my vinyl, have 1000's of old tunes on my to do list of getting rid of.

I bought a Pioneer DDJ-FLX6 with the money from my 1200's and LOVE it! Spent a lot of time with loops and stems, and I have been dabbling on soundcloud and Tik Tok - see https://soundcloud.com/welloffsloth

Ignore the DAF mix on soundcloud - which I need to remove, it was to show my pals what happens when I try mixing drunk
AF lol. I was surprised the standard of DJing is actually ok, just some random choices, and strange timing with cuts etc lol.

The main obstacle I had was I didn't own any MP3s, I was using streaming services, but I joined a couple of DJ pools to build the collection then when I had 100+ tracks, I now top up with new songs every week or so using beatport. I only use streaming now for the free DLs and to find new songs before buying.

I have a couple of hurdles to overcome now, I think my current music knowledge is where it needs to be (House/UKG), I know when to drop tracks into each other and what works with what, the two things I'm petrified of are:
1. While a DDJ is very similar to look and feel of CDJ 2000/3000, I have never used CDJs and don't want my first experience of them to be infront of a crowd of people - it will be like a rabbit in the headlights lol. How did others overcome this, did you shell out £7k and buy them or did you rent, what's the best way forward here? I have my MP3s on a USB but couldn't tell you how to load them onto the deck, never mind cue it up and do all the stauff I do on my DDJ.

2. I need to find somewhere where my music fits, its not centre of town (Wetherspoons) music, it's more side room of a club or a bar that warms people up before the club - bar near a club.

It would be good to somehow understand if my choice in music is popular with today's clubbers as it is a mix of current and past, it could be Sammy Virji, Gorgon City or Badger, but it could also be Double 99, Wildchild or MJ Cole, and I need to figure out if that's acceptable with today's clubbers or if it shows my age?

I usually get good feedback from friends and more recently, followers but it's uber small atm, I think I have like 20 followers I don't know haha, need to add a few 000's onto that number, but my Tik Toks are only getting to 200 views so need to rethink, perhaps show myself .

Would be good to understand the experience others had, how they broke the mould and what successes they are having now? I would love a set of CDJs for home but £7k is quite an outlay!

DJ McD - (AKA Well Off Sloth)